Going Out Like That
by VegasGirl09
Summary: The Gig Harbor Killer accomplice strikes again but in an unusual way. Follow up to "Promises And Empty Words".
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There were many things you missed out on when you spent time in a coma. Shopping and hanging out with friends were two of the things Julie missed the most as of late. So on a rare Saturday when she, Sara and Morgan all had the day off from work, the three of them piled into her car and headed off for some quality "girl time" at the nearby mall. The sun was shining, the air was warm and Julie never felt so alive. She enjoyed the breeze whipping her hair around as she, Morgan and Sara walked through the parking lot and up to the mall entrance.

"I'm so glad we had time to do this," Julie said happily, bouncing a little in excitement as she walked.

"Me too," Morgan said bouncing along with her.

"It's been so long since we've had a girl's weekend," Sara reminded them "Finn, any suggestions?"

"Tons" Julie said excitedly "I read about this place online, it's near Reno so it's a bit of a drive but I heard-

They continued to chat about the Reno spa getaway and other random things, laughing at the latest story of Hodges and his antics at the lab, discussing tactics for the next baseball game against VICE and deciding whether or not to go out dancing later. Julie and Morgan each had several stores they really wanted to browse through while Sara only requested one; the book store. So after hours of roaming the mall, buying lunch, trying on prom dresses just to be silly, stopping at a sporting goods store so Julie could ogle new tennis gear in the window and making a few purchases, they finally made it to the book store.

Sara immediately found a dozen books and sank into one of the cushiony arm chairs to skim each one with care, deciding which ones to buy. Morgan and Julie browsed the rest of the store while Sara read. They were passing by a shelf labeled "New Releases" when Morgan spotted something across the food court.

"We have to get one of those cinnamon pretzel things," she insisted to Julie only to look around and find she was no longer standing beside her "Jules?" Morgan called for her.

Morgan walked around the new releases display and found Julie standing on the other side, staring at the shelf.

"Jeez don't do that," Morgan said feeling slightly on edge for fear of something happening to her, a new fear to plague her since her best friend survived the coma.

But Julie didn't apologize nor give any indication that she had heard Morgan speak, she just continued to stare at the shelf.

"Jules, what's up?" Morgan asked glancing at the shelf trying to indentify what was grabbing her attention.

"Look," Julie finally managed to say, raising her arm, trembling as she pointed to a book on the shelf. Morgan found it at last and gasped in shock. Paul Winthrop's face was plastered on the cover.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Neither Morgan nor Julie could speak as the shock of what they were seeing hit them both like a ton of bricks. The book cover featuring Paul Winthrop's face seemed to stare at them and sent a violent shiver through Julie as the memories of his attack began to flash through her mind.

"W-what is this?" Morgan asked trembling.

"How should I know?" Julie asked, her voice high pitched with fear.

Morgan reached out and gently picked up the book as if it would suddenly burst into flames at any second.

" _The Gig Harbor Killer_ " she read the title " _Secrets From The Infamous Case_ "

She flipped the book over to the back.

" _In this detailed and thorough analysis of the case that captivated the nation for seven years, readers can dive into the world of Jared Briscoe and Paul Winthrop, twin killers with a violent agenda that stretched over two states, involved hundred of law enforcement members and ultimately ended with the final showdown between Winthrop and-_

Morgan paused from reciting the books contents.

"And what?" Julie asked confused as to why she had stopped.

Morgan was staring at Julie, tears filling her eyes, unable to speak. She just tilted the book towards Julie who scanned the summary, her eyes landing on the last sentence Morgan had failed to finish.

" _The final showdown between Winthrop and the target of his rage, former Seattle and current Las Vegas CSI Julie Finlay_ " she finished for her.

Julie felt dizzy, the book store shelves swimming in front of her in a blurry haze. She shoved the book back at Morgan, disgusted, nauseated, her heart pounding against her chest. Against better judgment, Morgan opened the book. She flipped to the index and scanned down the alphabetical list to the letter "F" and found Finlay, Julie. Her references in the book spanned across multiple chapters and were easily the most referenced name in the book.

"Page two," Morgan read "page seven, twelve, twenty two, twenty eight, thirty, thirty six-

"Just stop it," Julie demanded beginning to shake now.

She snatched the book forcefully from Morgan, not meaning to be so rude but she had to see for herself.

"Look at this," Julie snarled as she found an excerpt " _the Seattle CSI had made the transfer to Las Vegas amidst controversy as a career altering case threw her, current boss DB Russell had no choice but to fire her."_

The descriptions continued on to call her ridiculous over exaggerated things like "bossy" "arrogant" and "an HR nightmare". When she stumbled upon a chapter about her romantic partners both in Seattle and Vegas, Julie slammed the book shut.

"This is crazy," she said running a hand through her hair "how did they know all this stuff? Who even wrote this?"

She scanned the cover for an authors name but only found initials " _D.L_ " which gave her no clue as to who that might be.

"It would have to be someone close to the case," Morgan reminded Julie which only made her feel more violated.

"We gotta get out of here," Julie said scanning around for Sara "DB needs to see this book."

"You're not gonna buy it?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"I have to," Julie said "this is sensitive case information and we need to find out how they got a hold of it and how they were allowed to publish it."

But as she spoke, Julie knew that the rules about free speech were already against her. If this was someone who did their research and had money, they could legally publish this book no matter how many times they verbally attacked her.

Frustrated, angry and hurt, Julie paced anxiously in line at the book store. Sara had found them and was also concerned about the book. She agreed to purchase it with her other books so it wouldn't look suspicious. Morgan was on edge, looking around the bookstore anxiously as if someone might sneak up on them and hurt Julie. They were all flying on irrational thoughts. Julie wanted to track down this mysterious "D.L" and give them a piece of her mind for publishing about her and her coma. In the car, Sara drove while Julie continued reciting lines from the book.

" _CSI Finlay had been a rogue investigator for years, but the Gig Harbor case showed just how far she was willing to go to catch Winthrop, even as far as romantically involving her former Seattle partner Daniel Shaw who was unfortunately killed by Winthrop last February_ " Julie read, her hands shaking.

"How did they know?" she demanded, pounding her fist on her knees in frustration.

"Inside job," Sara suggested "someone on the force either here or in Seattle, who knew details, tracked down information, the internet is a breeding ground for crazy serial killer fans and hackers; someone did their homework Jules."

"But my coma," Julie said "my injuries, how would they know that? It's too close to home."

Sara couldn't explain that part of the book and that worried Julie more.

"Let's get back to the lab and talk to Russell," Sara said as if he had all the answers but she knew his calm head would settle the restless Julie Finlay in her moment of despair.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Julie, Morgan, and Sara tried not to race through the lab when they returned but their nerves were all on edge. Russell was sitting in his office reviewing case files when he was suddenly bombarded by the girls in their weekend outfits and shopping bags.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" he asked them leaning back in his chair alarmed.

"Uh- small fire," Sara said pulling out the book from her bag "we were out shopping and we stumbled upon this"

She lay the book down on his desk with the front cover of Winthrop's face upwards for him to see properly. Russell sat up now, concerned, the title jumping out at him, the cold lifeless eyes staring at him, sending an icy chill through him and the entire office. Immediately he looked at Julie who was swaying from side to side, arms crossed defensively, staring at him, silently begging him to do something to fix this.

"Where did you find this?" Russell asked.

"Bookstore in the mall," Sara explained "any idea who D.L is?"

Russell stared at the author's initials but no spark of recognition came to him. There was no author photo or description either which was odd for a published book these days. He flipped through the book, turning unfortunately to the chapter on Julie and her coma.

"No," he said feeling a rush of anger towards this author who remained anonymous while the chapters containing information on Julie were so detailed and personal it seemed to border on the obsessive.

"What are we gonna do D.B?" Julie asked meekly, speaking for the first time "they have case notes, they have notes on _me_ , on _my_ life, _my_ coma-"

She had to stop talking because her words got caught in her throat and she was afraid to speak for fear of sounding weak in front of everyone. Russell knew she was scared, they all did; this was the forensic conference shooting all over again.

Russell flipped the book over so that Winthrop's face was no longer staring up at them.

"This is a crime scene," he said "that's all, we have to process this book as our only evidence and find out who wrote it and who allowed it to be published."

But as he spoke, he knew the laws and rules about free speech and how technically this book was not illegal even though it hurt Julie which was a crime to him that needed to be punished severely for. But as her friend, he couldn't let this mysterious "D.L" get away with it without at least confronting them for information on how they knew so many intimate personal details of her survival and recovery. He opened the cover again and found the publishing companies name and logo, it was a Las Vegas based company and their logo was a small sun, very original.

"Sara, Morgan," Russell said now "get Greg and Hodges and see if you can track down this company, the editor might be able to give us more information but tread carefully, we don't have a plausible reason for investigating and if we ask too many questions they might shut us out."

"On it," Sara said copying down the name of the company and racing off with Morgan out of the office.

"What about me?" Julie asked "what can I do?"

"You are staying off this case," he said "this is getting too personal Jules"

"But I have to help," she insisted as usual "it's my life."

"Yeah and I want you to stick around for a long time Jules," Russell said "I almost lost you once, if this book is part of Winthrop's sick game and something else happens to you-

But he let that sentence hang in the air, unable to fathom a world without her having had to do so once already when she was in the coma. Her glare of disappointment and her stubborn stance made no difference in his decision as he told her blankly "Go home Jules."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The problem with Las Vegas was that every company used some variation of the sun as their logo and tracking down the publishing company based on just that logo was daunting. Greg was at one of the computers while Morgan hovered over his shoulder. Her anxiousness and close proximity caused him to stare at her.

"Anything?" Morgan demanded.

"There are over five hundred logos like this;" Greg said "scanning each one goes a lot faster if you help."

Morgan wanted to, but just sitting and staring at a screen full of sun logos felt useless to her. She wanted to pound the pavement, to hunt down the person responsible for hurting her friend. But she knew this was the gritty part of police work, combing through evidence while running on adrenaline. So she pulled up a chair and sat quietly, scanning the pages of logos with Greg in silence.

Sara was always immersed in a book in her free time, so scanning over the Winthrop book wasn't as difficult as she expected. However, the fact that she knew the case and how horrible the outcome had been for Julie, she found it difficult to read details of the case again after months had past. There was an entire chapter on Julie and her coma and somehow this invasive author knew the exact date she had woken up from it, how she had bravely returned to work after her recovery and what her survival signified to the case. Sara felt a rush of anger towards this author. She focused on the initials the otherwise anonymous author had scribbled down "D.L" what could that be? It didn't give away any clues as to gender. Nor did it strike out as familiar to Sara and she liked to pride herself on knowing most authors who went by initials only. On a hunch, she used the internet and just typed the initials in on a long shot but turned up the usual; Facebook names, silly social media accounts, and other useless things. Sara sighed in frustration. This was going to be a nightmare.

As night fell over the city, Julie paced back and forth in the break room, clutching her cell phone, feeling the need to call someone but unsure who. Russell had instructed Sara, Greg and Morgan to work with Hodges and Henry to try and track down the publishing company while telling her to go home. With her heightened fear and outrage towards this book there was no way that was happening. She wasn't allowed to help either which only added to her aggression. It had been hours and they had no leads, at least none that anyone was telling her. She kicked the corner of the closest chair to vent then continued her ritualistic pacing. This was her life, her trauma; she couldn't let some random anonymous person get some sick satisfaction from this, no way. She finally realized who she needed to call. She fidgeted as she dialed their number and waited for them to answer.

"If you send me to voice mail I swear to God"- she mumbled to herself.

Luckily her empty threat would not be carried out today because the voice on the other line answered her with "Hey what's up?"

"I need a favor," Julie said then added "please?"

With somewhat of an action plan, Julie's pacing became slower as she waited outside the lab for the one person who might be able to shed some light on this anonymous author. She recognized his car pull up and didn't even wait for him to shut it off before racing to the side and practically climbing through the window.

"We shouldn't meet like this," John said as she leaned aggressively in his drivers side window "it's very suspicious looking, love."

"Listen," she said brushing aside is attempt at humor "I need to know everything you know about ghost writing."

"Thinking of starting a side business?" he continued to tease her.

"Someone beat me to it," she said holding up the Winthrop book for him to see.

John's smug grin faded and he dropped his humor attempts to stare at the book in shock. She showed him the back cover and description, including the awful mentions of her and her coma. It had the precise effect that she wanted. He scrambled out the car to face her and see the anguish and hurt in her eyes at this betrayal.

"I'm so sorry," he said holding her shoulders with both hands "why didn't you say something when you called?"

Julie shrugged and said "I'm telling you now, can you help me?"

John sighed now, knowing how desperate she was for answers and hating himself for what he was about to tell her.

"That's the thing love," he said "ghost writing is anonymous and it's meant to be that way, they advertise online but are for the most part, anonymous, they get paid through online sites like , it's not really a cutthroat business."

"But you have writer friends," Julie pushed "do any of them ghost write or have friends who do it? Maybe they know who D.L is?"

She held up the book helplessly looking at him, almost begging for an answer.

"It's a long shot," John told her "I can ask around, some of the blogs and forums might know, but if I ask too many questions they will get suspicious and might back off."

But at this point she was willing to try anything to track this person down.

"Do it," she said "if someone gets suspicious of you then you can back off, I just- I need to know who and why- why me?"

He could sense the hostility and fear in her voice.

"You know, I could also check some of those weird serial killer worship sites," he added unable to find the right word for those horrid places "see if anyone had interest in Gig Harbor within the last few months."

"D.B is probably working that angle" Julie said looking down at the ground now feeling just as helpless as she did at the conference.

"The more the merrier," John said trying to lighten the mood while sliding one finger under her chin and lifting it so that she could see the ridiculous grin he reserved just for her when he wanted to cheer her up. She couldn't resist smiling back, shoving him lightly and saying "Stop it, this is serious."

"I know," John said "and we'll figure this out, just like we did before Christmas."

He was referring to the conference shooting. She couldn't help but stare at his shoulder now that had only just recently been completely healed and he could now walk around sling free.

"Does it hurt?" she asked reaching out to touch it gently.

"Sometimes," he said "right before it's about to rain or snow in D.C, but I don't want you to worry about it love."

"I have to," she said sadly "it's my fault."

He sighed, having heard this plea for months now, how she blamed herself for his injury no matter how many hours he spent reassuring her with hugs, kisses and cuddling that she was not at fault.

"We've talked about this," he said "it's not your fault and I don't want to hear you say that it is again o.k? Now can we focus on this case?"

He always had a way of reassuring her when things went wrong, when she fell into that dark place of guilt that crushed her, that he loved her and that nothing was going to change that.

"O.K," she finally replied, eager to get back to finding this ghost writer.

"Can I see the book again?" he asked gently prying it from her hands.

He opened the front cover again and scanned the publishing information, as little as there was to work with. She was taken aback by his chuckle a few minutes later. 

"Well love, looks like we don't have to go very far," he said turning the book towards her "I know exactly who this is."

"Who?" Julie asked dumbfounded at his quick response.

"It's Susan, my editor." John said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Julie took John inside the lab to meet with Russell, Sara, Greg, Morgan and Hodges now that his information proved to be valuable.

"So your editor has a side job," Russell said trying to process this information "as a ghost writer?"

"Not that I was aware of," John said "but this logo, it belongs to her company, she publishes journals and articles, usually scholarly ones, under this image, she has for years, but never books."

"Well it's safe to say she branched out a little bit," Hodges said unable to hide his grin at his terrible library pun.

"Las Vegas Sun editor with a sun for a company logo," Russell said amazed that they had somehow missed it.

"It's not a sun," John said "it's a circle, with seven triangles around it."

The group stared at him, unable to distinguish how that was different from any poorly drawn sun.

"It is I swear, " John said "she discussed it with our team a few years back, it's supposed to mean something to her, from something she read years ago that inspired her I guess, that's why it wasn't in your database."

He looked apologetic at Greg and Morgan who had spent hours combing that database only to turn up empty.

"Wait," Morgan said realizing it "did you say seven triangles?"

"Yes," John confirmed after recounting.

"What books do we know that involve seven things?" Morgan asked them "seven terrifying things?"

At first no one had the answer, but then.

"Dante's Inferno," Greg said quietly.

"But there are nine circles there," Russell reminded them from their previous case a few years ago involving women being killed and left in positions mirroring each of the circles of hell. "What's the seventh?"

A quick search online yielded them the answer.

"Violence," Julie said eyeing the Winthrop book with disgust.

This was all speculation and still a long shot. They still had no crime and no evidence to allow them to speak to Susan or investigate her publishing company. They did have one weapon however; John. Susan was technically his boss and discussing her book in a casual setting was not illegal; having John's girlfriend who happened to be a main subject in the book in question join in, also not a crime. So they waited at the lab anxiously until morning when the newspaper's office opened. Julie and John went to his office, taking the elevator up to the top floor where Susan's office was. John carried the book when they entered.

"Mr. Merchiston," Susan said with a smile from behind her desk where she was seated "what can I do for you?"

"Well I was just curious about this," John said holding up the Winthrop book.

Susan's eyes landed on it and her smile faded.

"Oh that," she said "that was a little, project; I took on in the summer, only recently had it take off in sales, how did you know about that?"

"I recognized you're logo," John said "and-

He looked at Julie sadly.

"My girlfriend is in it," John concluded.

Susan looked at Julie now.

"CSI Finlay," she said blankly "Paul Winthrop attacked _you_?" And John, you're dating her?"

Susan's confusion told them that she really had not cared much about doing the right research before allowing this book to be published.

"I had no idea," she said "John mentioned he was dating a cop but not you."

She waved her hands as she talked, clearly flustered by all this.

"Susan," John said calmly to try and alleviate her stress "we just want to know, who wrote this book? Who is D.L?"

"Well I can't tell you that," Susan said "confidentiality, I might not have the best stories but my authors still have rights."

"Is there anything you can tell us about them?" John asked almost pleadingly for Julie's sake.

"Well I- Susan started to say.

"It's o.k. Suzy," a gruff voice spoke from behind them.

John and Julie turned and were face to face with someone that Julie felt just as fearful of as Winthrop; Daniel Larson, the twins father.

Julie had not seen Larson in person since before her coma, the day before her attack she recalled speaking to him with Shaw about his involvement in the case. Now as he stood in front of her in this clean and tidy office wearing a smug grin and sunglasses indoors, she felt a rush of anger mixed with her fear. She took a step back away from him as he stepped forward.

"You got me," he said holding his hands up in surrender "Suzy published my story."

" _Your_ story?" Julie snarled aggressively, regaining her confidence after the brief moment of vulnerability "it wasn't your story to tell, it's mine!"

"Well sorry sweetheart," Larson said slyly "but you know how I work, I go where the money is."

"You're sick," Julie said shaking, "you're just a sick as your bastard twins."

But her words seemed to have no effect on Larson.

"It's not illegal to write a story," he justified "and it's made such a good little profit, might be able to retire."

He laughed at his fortune and at their misfortune. His laugh made Julie's blood boil.

"If you want, I can cut you a deal," Larson said "give you you're share of the profit for your troubles."

"I wouldn't take money from you if"- Julie began.

"Careful," Larson warned her with a sneer. "It wouldn't look good on a cop's record if she made empty threats to innocent citizens."

Julie stayed quiet now knowing Larson had more power over her. And he was right; nothing about this book was illegal.

"It was nice chatting with ya'll," Larson said "but I best be on my way, got a few Q and A's with some fans online, until we meet again."

He gave them a small salute.

"Suzy I'll be back for my checks later," Larson said.

Susan had no words for Larson in this moment. She felt silly for allowing this client to take advantage of her and hurt one of her best journalists and his girlfriend. Larson shuffled out of the office leaving them all to stand there in stunned silence.

Susan apologized profusely for the book and promised that once Larson was paid, she would not associate with him again. Julie expressed her gratitude but the damage had already been done. Now anyone who read that book would know her and pain. Horrible thoughts went through her mind as John drove her back to the lab to tell Russell what they had discovered. What if someone became a fan of The Gig Harbor Killer after reading this and tried to re-create the crimes? What if they came after her again knowing she survived and wanting to exact revenge? If Julie had learned anything from her job it was that crazy people existed and found ways to do terrible violent things. Though it was now after noon and the sun was beating down warming the car, Julie felt an icy chill engulf her. Walking back through the lab felt like floating and her head felt foggy with more questions and worries. She couldn't even bring herself to describe what had happened in the office; she let John do all the talking.

"Larson," Russell said disgusted "figures he would try and turn a profit from all this." Did he say anything about May Winthrop?"

"No," John said "I don't think he cares about her, didn't care back when she was sixteen and carrying his children, now, it's all about money for him."

"We'll have to keep an eye on him," Russell said "other than that, there's nothing we can do."

He looked at Julie who had no words, just a sad disheveled look to pierce him with.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

John offered to take Julie, Morgan and Sara back to the mall to finish shopping tomorrow since their trip two days ago had been ruined but Julie declined bluntly. Instead, she allowed him to let her stay at his apartment instead of going home alone to another night spent tossing and turning, mirroring the restlessness she had been feeling since the conference shooting. Questions were still bouncing around in her head and she wanted answers so she combed through the Winthrop book that had somehow managed to get stuffed into her purse and was now in her hands again. It was like reliving her nightmare from last year page by page and in more detail than she ever could have thought of herself. It occurred to her now that all these details had probably come from Winthrop himself and that Larson probably visited his son in jail, pretending to be a curious follower. The thought of their reunion and Larson's silence on his relation to Paul made her stomach knot unpleasantly.

"Why are you still reading that?" John demanded to know of her as he emerged from the kitchen and joined her in the bedroom now.

"Can't help it," she mumbled shrugging from her cozy spot under the covers in his bed.

"I'm going to burn that book," John said dramatically snatching it from her and throwing it into the closet.

"Don't do that," Julie begged, fearful of his aggression now.

"I can't believe Susan let this happen," John said pacing the room now "I should quit and work for that company in D.C, that'll show her."

"But, I would never see you," Julie said sadly piercing him with a look of disappointment at his declaration.

John realized he was upsetting her at last so he stopped pacing to crawl in bed beside her now. They both turned on their sides to face each other at the same time.

"I'm sorry love," he said gently "I just wish I could fix this for you."

"You found the author," Julie said "that's all I really wanted."

But she avoided his gaze now and he knew there was something else she was teetering on the edge of saying.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said all too quickly for his liking.

"Come on," he pressed "you can tell me, how many times have we been through this?"

"Too many," she snapped back quickly, punching the pillow in frustration "too many and it's not fair!" It's not fair to you, having to "rescue" me and clean up the emotional mess I've become all because of some stupid, arrogant pimp and his killer son! I think- I think maybe I should go- go back to my place and leave you alone and then you could be with someone normal who isn't a moving target."

She pierced him with that look again, but her eyes had filled with tears, tears of frustration and anger and pain over what she had just told him.

"Why in the world would I want anyone else?" he asked her now "of all the stupid things to say Jules."

"It's true," she muttered, sniffling "I'm a wreck John, you deserve better."

He shook his head in disbelief and said "When will you learn?" before pulling her into his arms and holding her tight.

"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered in her hair, squeezing her tighter for reassurance "I love you, we're in this together, any other cheesy cliché you want to add love?"

"No," she mumbled from where she had buried her face in his chest, smirking at his humor.

"O.K then," John said "now what were you really going to tell me?"

He had seen right through her insecurity to the real question on her mind.

"What if," she began "people read this book and try to be copycats? I mean, there's already one who tried to shoot me, and now there could be more? What if- they want revenge for Winthrop and try to hurt me again like he did?

She paused; bit her lip debating how to properly say the next scariest thing on her mind, feeling John squeeze her shoulder for comfort. It was the security she needed to speak at last.

"I can't be in a coma again," she whimpered "I just can't"

Because to her, the coma was basically death, death that she was spared from yet had come so close to so many times lately. It terrified her, she was ashamed to admit, but she didn't want to be in the dark again. Everything she was taught about death she knew to be real since the coma, there was no pearly gates, no white light, no angels waiting for her, just darkness, cold, empty, lonely darkness.

"You won't," John finally was able to reassure her "I won't let them get to you, and neither will Russell or anyone at the lab, you're safe with us love."

She nodded against his chest to show him that she understood. And just like before, whenever she needed reminding that she was protected and loved, he was there, holding her close, letting her cry if she needed to, brushing her hair back so he could kiss her forehead until she was lulled to sleep at last.

A/N: Will be continuing with another story, hopefully soon, the Gig Harbor accomplice will be revealed, sending Julie and the team into a violent world they thought they had escaped from.


End file.
